School Daze

Finals are over and I am one happy camper for that! Above is a wonderful photo taken on the last day of one of my Technical Sketching classes. I am a little afraid of how much I blend in as one of the students. Note to self: Must dress more like a Math Professor and less like a Fashion Designer(or an "Urban Outfitters" sales associate!). This Quarter was difficult for me because of all the other wonderful things going on in my life but it helped that I had amazingly devoted students. One of my favorite courses is an "Elements of Fit" class, where I actually bring in my fabulous model, Amara and show the students my gowns on an actual live model.
Onto my supposed "Summer Break", a time for R & R, turning in that "Spa Gift Certificate" that I got back months ago for my birthday and getting massages and masks, and so on.......NOT!! It seems that I am almost busier than when I was teaching.

First I am busy prepping for the
Los Angeles Billion_Dollar_Babes Sample Sale as well deliveries and orders.
On Saturday , I was invited as a Special Presenter of the Fashion Design Award at the FIDM Graduation Ceremonies at the Greek Theater. This was such a treat, because I was seated on the stage with all the department heads and the president of the school and other dignitaries. When they called my name to introduce me, 2000 people , including graduates , friends and families began cheering as if I was Kelly Clarkson or Bo Bice. Absolutely crazy. I was completely overwhelmed. I will hopefully post photos of this event soon for you guys to see.
Today , I was invited back to FIDM again to be a "surprise" guest speaker at their annual "3 Day Fashion Bootcamp", geared for High School Seniors and Juniors from all over the USA, who visit the campus to find out more about the school . These students are interested in fashion and FIDM does a great job of introducing the school as a viable option post high school.
I spoke to about 300 students about my experience and what made me not go to fashion school right after high school and what to expect if and when they attended the school. It's not at all like the MTV show, "The Hills" presents. It's a lot of hard work ! So I hope I didn't scare any kids away from pursuing their dream. My favorite part was afterwards I got to sign A LOT of the kids' bags and as a special surprise, I sketched fashion illustrations on them too. I warned them that I would be looking out on EBay if anybody tried to sell them!
Tomorrow night, I have been invited to judge the American InterContinental University Final Portfolio Fashion Show Gala at The Avalon in Hollywood and I am very excited to see the final collections of these up-and-coming student-designers. I will have photos of this event soon!It seems that Summer Break for me means School and more School!!!! Happy School Daze!!!